The Thomas West home at 600 River Drive in Westville was first built in 1746. It has since been altered several times and is now a private residence. / Photo provided

DID YOU KNOW?

Milt Plum, who played quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants during a 13-year NFL career that lasted from 1957 to 1969, was born in Westville on Jan. 20, 1935.

HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS

1703: The oldest record of land ownership shows Daniel Coxe buying 400 acres of land around Timber Creek. It becomes the site on which Thomas West builds a tavern that becomes a popular stagecoach stop.

1746: Thomas West, for whom the town is named, builds his home on River Drive. After several alterations, the home still stands today as a private residence.

1821: Michael Newbold buys Windmill Farm. The village of Newbold is named for him.

1821: Westville gets its first general store, built by Isaac Doughten.

1825: Hartley Brick becomes the borough's first blacksmith when he opens his shop along the Timber Creek near the bridge.

1840: The town, which was originally called Buck Tavern, changes its name to Westville, in honor of Thomas West.

1885: Newbold School is built on the west side of the railroad. It is torn down in 1966, after being empty for two years.

1895: Washington Park, an amusement park built on a bend of the Delaware River, is built between Westville and National Park. It opens on Memorial Day.

1909: Washington Park is destroyed by fire and then rebuilt. The amusement park burns down again in 1913, leading to its demise. Today, the land it sat on belongs to West Deptford.

1913: First National Bank of Westville is established.

1914: Westville is incorporated. It originally was part of Deptford, while the villages of Newbold and South Westville were part of West Deptford. A merger of the three villages is approved by voters in April 1914; the borough is incorporated on May 31. Source: www.westvillenj.com; "Encyclopedia of New Jersey," edited by Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen

LANDMARKS IN WESTVILLE

1. Thomas West Home, at 600 River Drive, originally was the home of Thomas West, the largest land owner and for whom the borough is named. First built in 1746, it has since been altered many times and is now a private residence.

2. Grabbe's Seafood Restaurant, at 19 Delsea Drive, is a third-generation establishment with other spin-off businesses: wholesale distributor to area eateries, and shellfish company that sells to walk-in customers and delivers orders placed via the Internet. The companies are owned and operated by Louis and Dolores Achilles.

3. The Tower Tavern, at 32 River Drive, is a uniquely placed business. This popular watering hole sits beneath the municipal water tower.

QUOTABLE

"We're trying to create an attractive area where businesses will want to relocate. Hopefully, we'll start to get more businesses in town."

Mayor William C. Packer III, reacting to almost $900,000 in downtown street improvements that were largely paid for with grants

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The borough has a rich history, dating back to a time when a Lenni-Lenape tribe from Delaware made their home along the banks of the Big Timber Creek. Their territory would later become part of the borough of Westville.

Native American artifacts, including arrowheads and other remains, were unearthed when homes were built there in the early days, ample evidence that the Unalachtigo branch of the Lenni-Lenape tribe inhabited the Gloucester County area.

By 1624, the same area was occupied by the Dutch who built Fort Nassau. Its exact location remains a mystery but is believed to be on the south bank of Big Timber Creek as it empties into the Delaware River, according to the town's Web site.

That would mean it was in what later became known as Newbold, which historians consider among a half-dozen or so "lost" towns or villages in South Jersey.

The same area would later produce logs that were used to build underwater defense systems in the Delaware River channel that slowed down British shipping and prevented the enemy Hessians from attacking Philadelphia.

Newbold was named for Michael Newbold, who bought the Windmill Farm in 1821.

One of the area's first recorded land owners was John Ladd, a Quaker who was handsomely paid by William Penn for his surveying work. He purchased land from North Woodbury to Big Timber Creek and his progeny later took possession.

A cattle run wound its way through the borough, but it was a death march for the herds because they were intended as food for Gen. George Washington's starving troops during the Revolutionary War.

Later, it's believed that the home of Thomas West served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, as many runaway slaves sought freedom in the North during the Civil War. West, a husband to one of Ladd's daughters, hailed from Philadelphia.

Westville saw the rise and fall of Washington Park, a popular amusement park built on a bend of the Delaware River, between Westville and National Park. It opened on Memorial Day in 1895 and burned down twice -- in 1909 and again in 1913 -- before closing its doors for good. The land on which the park once stood now belongs to neighboring West Deptford.

The borough was incorporated in 1914, after the villages of Westville, Newbold and South Westville were merged. Westville originally was part of Deptford, while Newbold and South Westville were part of West Deptford. -- Wilford S. Shamlin